NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX87LA333
Registry · N85022
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
AIR TRACTOR INC AT-402A
Year of manufacture
2001
TCDS
A17SW · AIR TRACTOR INC
Engine
P&W PT6A SERIES (500 hp)
Seats / Engines
1 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20011119
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S ABAA11
Registrant of record
BERGO LLC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Factual narrative
WHILE CLIMBING OUT OVER A RIDGE, THE INSTRUCTOR, WHO WAS SITTING IN BACK, HEARD HIS STUDENT YELL SOMETHING. THE INSTRUCTOR LOOKED OUT THE FRONT WINDSCREEN JUST IN TIME TO SEE POWERLINES. SIMULTANEOUSLY, THE STUDENT PUSHED THE STICK FORWARD TO GO UNDER THE POWER LINES AND THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN. THIS INFORMATION WAS PROVIDED BY THE INSTRUCTOR. THE STUDENT CANNOT REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED. THERE WERE NO MECHANICAL PROBLEMS REPORTED. WINDS WERE REPORTED TO BE FROM 250 AT 5 KNOTS AT THE TIME AND THE INSTRUCTOR SAID THAT PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT WEATHER WAS NOT A PROBLEM. HOWEVER, AS THEY WERE CLIMBING OUT OVER THE RIDGE, THE INSTRUCTOR THOUGHT HE FELT THE AIRCRAFT SINKING FOR AN UNKNOWN REASON. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1987_LAX87LA333.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.